Finding a Job in the IT Industry

Good and Bad Practices for Job Seekers

Svetlin Nakov

Telerik Software Academyacademy.telerik.com

Technical Trainerwww.nakov.com

academy.telerik.com/seminars/it-job-interview

Finding a Jobin the IT Industry

Good and Bad Practices for Job Seekers

Svetlin Nakov

Telerik Academyacademy.telerik.com

Technical Trainerwww.nakov.com

JOB

Table of Contents1. Where to Search for a Job?

Define Your Goals Prepare for Starting a Job Search Channels: Job Sites, Career

Centers, …2. The Job Application Process

Research the Employer Prepare CV, Cover Letter,

Endorsements, … Preparation for an Interview Go to an Interview

3

Where and How to Search

for a Job?Guidelines for Job Seekers

Steps in the Job Search Process

The job search process follows these steps: Define your goals – what kind of job

you want? Prepare for starting a job – increase

your skills Research the job market

Research the employers and offered positions

Apply for a job Prepare and send your CV and cover

letter Prepare for the interview Go to the Interview

5

Define Your Goals What kind of job you want?

What position? In Bulgaria or abroad? What are the requirements for this

position? Who are the potential employers?

For software engineers / IT specialists: What technologies I want to use at

work (e.g. PHP / Java / .NET / front-end / QA / mobile / …)?

Are my goals achievable / realistic?

6

JOB

The First Job is Hardest to Get!

Starting your first job is very hard Start with lower goals and

expectations Once you get experience you could

easily move to a better job / position / employer

Companies need experienced people

Be unpretentious! You don’t need a big salary at your

first working day – it will come later Just start working somewhere, later

you could move to a better position or company

7

Prepare for Starting a Job

Once you know what position you want, prepare yourself for it Do you have the required skills?

Your university education is not enough!

How you could increase your knowledge / skills? Self-study (books, tutorials, video-

tutorials, …) Training courses (e.g. Telerik

Academy) Practical projects – very, very

important! What non-technical skills you need?

8

Prepare for Starting a Job (2)

The everyday development of your IT skills during your life is your preparation for finding a job At school – trainings, courses,

practical projects At the university – courses, practice

and projects Alternative education: courses,

training centers, … Telerik Academy / School Academy,

elective courses at FMI, programming schools, training companies

Self-education – study yourself by books / videos

Internships / real-world experience / trial jobs

Practical projects – learn by doing and practicing

9

Prepare for Starting a Job (3)

Ask yourself: how am I different than the other 50 candidates for the same job position? Do I have better skills than them?

If not, how could I improve my skills? Do I have any experience?

If not, how could I gain some? Can I start some project to gain

experience? Have I prepared my job application

carefully? Do I have awards, certificates,

endorsements?

10

Research the Job Market

Researching the job market is important Research the employers

Review the job offers from the last 3 months Who are the most active employers?

Research these employers – what skills thy need?

Research the job positions What are the most searched job

positions? Did you find job offers for the

position you want? E.g. you may want to become game developer but does the industry need game developers?

11

Good Employers What is a good employer and how to

identify it? The best reference are insiders in

the company! Several insiders are even better

Generally companies from West Europe, USA and Canada are more reliable

Best employers demonstrate professionalism in all possible respects Carefully written job description,

emails, positive attitude in phone calls, clear expectations, etc.

Have good reputation – positive comments in public sites, forums, and message boards

12

Bad Employers What is a bad employer and how to identify it? Beware of amateur / garage

companies "Garage company" is not a "small

company" Beware of high employee turnover Beware of state / government

companies and companies working on government projects

Beware of Greeks and Israeli employers

Beware of companies managed by incompetent people – you could notice this at the interview

Beware of organizational anarchy

13

Employers Rankings Use carefully site like

www.bgrabotodatel.com and www.karieri.bg/forum Traditionally most comments come

from haters These sites can be easily tricked /

manipulated! Employees fired due to incompetence,

always put negative comments against their former employer

Trust more to established consulting companies E.g. Hewitt does a "Best Employer"

ranking by industries, every year, worldwide

JOBS.BG's employer ranking may be a bit tricky

14

Top Employers in Bulgaria (2010)

15

Source: http://dariknews.bg/view_article.php?article_id=618009

Job Search Channels Job searching in the software / IT industry runs through many channels Public job Web sites Network of friends / colleagues University career centers Career events (job fairs) Recruitment agencies Direct contact with the employer

16

JOB

Public Job Sites Jobs sites (targeting the Bulgarian IT industry) www.jobs.bg www.itjobs.bg www.rabota.bg www.jobspace.bg www.bestjobs.bg www.orjo.com www.jobtiger.bg www.buljobs.bg 17

The list is not complete and not exhaustive

Job sites constantly change JOBG.BG is the

leader Search in Google

E.g. try "работа Java developer"

You Friends Network Ask your friends / colleagues / fellows Many job offers are offered

privately only Send email to all your friends /

colleagues Use your contacts in Facebook Use all your acquaintances by any

channel Explain them what kind of job you

need and what skills you have Send them your CV, portfolio, etc.

They will spend just one click to forward it

18

University Career Centers

The career centers at the universities: At some universities there are well-

working career centers contact them

Many internship and junior job positions are offered at the universities

Some career centers for the IT industry: FMI of SU – http://

career.fmi.uni-sofia.bg TU-Sofia – http://career.tu-sofia.bg NBU – http://

www.nbu.bg/index.php?l=264

19

Career Events (Job Fairs)

Career events (job fairs) are great place to learn about the employers and find job offers

How to learn about upcoming career events? Career centers put invitations at

their Web sites The student's councils at each

University NBU – www.studentskisavet.com TU-Sofia – www.studsavet.com FMI of SU – fss.fmi.uni-sofia.bg

Largest job portals put invitations in Facebook

20

Recruitment Agencies Generally in Bulgaria the IT recruitment agencies (HR agencies) do not work well Most of them consider you as a

commodity They want to sell you to earn money

Your interests are usually ignored They will ask you start a job which

you do not want (e.g. an operator in a call center)

Some employers use only HR agencies to hire new employees This is mostly for executive

positions

21

Recruitment Agencies in Bulgaria

Generally the recruitment agencies are incompetent in the IT industry However you can still post them a CV

Bulwork – http://www.bulwork.net The most popular, but has bad

reputation + unfair attitude to applicants and employers

Adecco Bulgaria – http://www.adeccobulgaria.com

Manpower Bulgaria – http://wwwmanpower.bg

Talent Hunter – http://www.talenthunter-bg.com

ITJobs.bg (HRCR) – http://www.hrcr.bg

22

Directly Contact the Employers

Sometimes best employers do not post public job offers Candidates scramble to apply for them Usually companies with very strong

reputation (like Microsoft, Google and Facebook)

If you want to work in such company, you need to be the active side

Make a list of the best employers in your industry and find their job offers Be prepared to show significant

achievements23

The Job Application Process

How to Prepare a CV, Cover Letter and Send a Job Application, How to Prepare

and Go to Interview?

Job Application Steps Recommended steps to follow

during the job application process:1. Research the employer2. Research the job offer3. Prepare CV, cover letter,

endorsements, projects, portfolio, certificates, awards, etc.

4. Carefully send you job application5. Prepare for an interview6. Go to interview 25

Read the Requirements Very important rule:

Follow the requirements exactly as requested If a CV in English is required this

means CV in English, not in Bulgarian

If a cover letter is required in Bulgarian, this means a cover letter in Bulgarian

If the deadline is March 31st, this is not April 2nd

26

Read the Requirements!

What Language to Use? In the IT industry the official language is English If anyone requests a CV in

Bulgarian, this may be a suspicious garage-like company

If the job offer does not specify a language Use the same language like the in

job offer You can still use English for the IT

positions If a cover letter is not requested, still send one This will make you more-serious

candidate

27

Research the Employer Obligatory research the employer!

Explore what is its business You should know very well what the

company does, its products, services, customers, etc.

Research which are the company value What is important for the company?

Read articles / publications about the company

Read the forums and discussions Beware: forum posts are not

trustworthy source

28

Research the Job Position

Research carefully the job position! Any unknown words in the job

description (e.g. BPMN, BPEL, ARIS, BPM, SOA)? Learn about them, try these

technologies! Any unknown products in the job

description? Download the products and play with

them! Any requirement unmatched by

your skills / competence / experience? Improve your skills, take a quick

course / tutorial!

29

Prepare CV and Cover Letter

Prepare a CV that matches the job position and the requirements in the job description Start with the most important for this

specific job offer technologies / skills / experience / projects

Carefully prepare a cover (motivation) letter Write it specifically for the offered

position Never use a template

Find endorsements from former employers, professors, colleagues, and so on

Prepare diplomas, certificates, awards, portfolio

30

Sending Your Job Application

Send carefully you job application and according to the requirements The email sender should be polite:

Ivan Ivanov <ivan.k.ivanov@gmail.com>

An example of idiotic sender: Asd Afds <yaka_ku4ka@abv.bg>

Email subject should be meaningful: Job Application: Junior .NET Developer

(Ref #481) Bad examples: CV, Re:, rabota, <no

subject>

31

Sending Your Job Application (2)

The cover letter and CV should be sent as separate files (best in PDF format) named meaningfully: Ivan-Ivanov-Cover-Letter-Mobiltel.pdf Ivan-Ivanov-CV.pdf

Examples of idiotic file names: New Document (2).docx, ivan.doc,

mobiltel.doc Don’t attach a photo, put it inside

your CV Don't send 8 MB photo named

vankata_pich2.jpg! If you need to attach large files (more

than 2 MB), something is wrong find what

32

Sending Your Job Application (3)

Write a meaningful text in the email body, e.g.

Obligatory put in the application email: The exact name of the position (as in

the job offer) and a reference number (if applicable)

The company name (not your company)

How did you learn about this position

33

Dear HR Manager,I would like to apply for the position "Junior .NET Developer" (Ref #481) in Mobiltel EAD published at Jobs.bg. Attached are my application documents: CV, cover letter, university diploma and English TOEFL certificate.Please feel free to contact me at any time by phone or e-mail.

Sending Your Job Application (4)

Obligatory put a meaningful signature with your name and contacts at the end of the email:

Send your entire application in English (CV, cover letter, endorsements, portfolio, email, signature) Exception: if the job offer is in

Bulgarian Never mix the languages (BG text + EN

signature)

34

Kind regards,Ivan IvanovTel. 0888 12 34 56Email: ivan.k.ivanov@gmail.com

Expect to Get Contacted

If your job application is carefully prepared, expect to be contacted in few days Good companies always answer to

polite candidates by phone or by email Positive or negative, you will get an

answer If you have sent CV2.doc in an

empty e-mail without a subject, you will not get an answer!

Read your e-mail constantly! Bring your phone with fully charged

battery and do not reject the incoming calls

35

Prepare for an Interview

Prepare for eventual interview Research the company

The interviewer will obligatory ask you about the company and "nothing" is catastrophic answer

Research carefully each of the requirements You will be asked about your

experience with the required products / platforms / technologies / etc.

Be prepared for classical (standard) questions: Previous experience, expected

salary, etc.

36

The Interview Half of the effort you put with your job application is to get invited to an interview Most candidates do not know how

to apply for a job and never get invited to an interview

The other efforts are to demonstrate your skills and positive personality at the interview Prepare for technical questions Demonstrate knowledge and skills,

positive attitude, thinking, readiness for teamwork

Avoid having high demands / pretentions

37

Homework1. Define your goals for your future job

Is there a demand in the industry for this job?

2. Identify the typical requirements for your preferred job position Identify the technologies you need to know

3. Create a wish-list of potential employers Research these employers

4. Increase your skills for your preferred job position (pass tutorials, read books, take courses, …)

38

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